|
BOSTON - April 4, 2006 - Outside The Classroom is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2005-2006 Prevention Excellence Awards program. The Prevention Excellence Awards honor institutions of higher education and/or Greek organizations that have achieved excellence in their alcohol prevention efforts.
Syracuse University received the distinction of Highest Honors for its work. The University received a $10,000 donation to its general scholarship fund in the name of those administrators who helped develop and implement the prevention programming.
Seven other institutions also earned status as a Prevention Excellence Award recipient, including Central Missouri State University, College of Charleston, Frostburg State University, Ohio University, Southern Methodist University, University of Connecticut, and Washington University in St. Louis.
"The applications we received for the Prevention Excellence Awards were truly impressive," said Brandon Busteed, Founder and CEO of Outside The Classroom. "These institutions are doing phenomenal work on their campuses and are finding ways to reach their students in important ways. We congratulate them and wish them the best in their future endeavors."
Award recipients were honored at a reception and dinner at last month's National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Annual Conference in Washington, DC. Outside The Classroom will also be at Syracuse University on April 5, 2006 to present them with their award.
Alcohol prevention on our nation's college campuses is critically important. According to a March 2005 report from the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), the problem of college drinking exceeds previous estimates. The report cites more than 1700 alcohol-related deaths and 2.8 million cases of driving under the influence in 2001. Previous estimates also suggest 500,000 injuries, 70,000 sexual assaults, and 159,000 first-year student dropouts due to alcohol and other drugs every year.
Award applications were evaluated by a third-party panel of experts in the prevention field. Their decisions were based on five criteria: implementation practices, communication, evaluation, programmatic linkages, and organizational linkages.
Award recipients demonstrated their dedication to the health and safety of their students by implementing comprehensive alcohol prevention programs on their campuses. The recipients' efforts included a variety of strategies, including population-level programs that engage all students on their campuses, not just those who have violated alcohol policies; peer education programs; poster campaigns; and events that underscore the importance of safe behaviors. These programs were supported with communication to faculty, parents, and community members as well as evaluation to ensure the programs are impacting students and their behaviors.
The Prevention Excellence Award program is sponsored by Outside The Classroom, the developer of AlcoholEdu® for College, an online prevention program used on more than 450 college campuses around the country.
About Outside The Classroom
Outside The Classroom is the leading provider of online alcohol prevention programs and offers courses for college and high school students. The AlcoholEdu development team is led by Richard P. Keeling, MD, Executive Vice President for Research and Prevention Science, and includes prevention professionals, assessment and evaluation experts, experienced educators, and leading scientists, including distinguished neuropsychologists and brain researchers Scott Swartzwelder, Ph.D., and Aaron White, Ph.D., of Duke University Medical Center. Outside The Classroom collaborates with many prominent organizations, including the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
Return to Press Release Listing
|
